Briefs

BOURNE (AP) -- The Coast Guard says about 350 gallons of gear oil was spilled when a tug boat ran aground in Buzzards Bay near the mouth of the Cape Cod Canal.

The tug Justice ran aground ran just after midnight Thursday. It has now been towed to the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and is no longer leaking oil.

Dramatic dip in Mass. car thefts

BOSTON (AP) -- Car thefts have dropped by 88 percent since the mid-1970s, when the state had the dubious distinction of being the country's car theft capital. Insurance experts and law-enforcement officials credit the drop to antitheft features, from transponder keys and immobilizing devices and vehicle tracking systems, and to vigorous enforcement by police.

Maine, NH, shipyard workers rally against cuts

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) -- Portsmouth Naval Shipyard workers from Maine and New Hampshire have rallied to call on Congress to cancel automatic budget cuts that will affect their pay.

About 150 people gathered Thursday afternoon for about an hour at Prescott Park in Portsmouth, across the river from the Kittery, Maine, shipyard. Community members and advocates for at-risk families joined the workers in their support.

The shipyard employs about 4,700 civilian workers in Maine and New Hampshire.

Civilian workers at the shipyard and throughout the United States expect to be told soon they will be forced to take 22 days off without pay between April and Sept.

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30 if nothing happens to change the cuts, known as sequestration.

Former Kittery state Rep. Walt Wheeler, a retired shipyard worker, told the Portsmouth Herald he's concerned the cuts could grow and extend beyond September, well into the future.

Earlier Thursday, Maine Rep. Chellie Pingree took to the floor of the U.S. House to give her support to the workers and criticize Congressional inaction leading to the cuts.

"It's outrageous that Congress has not done its job and passed a balanced deficit reduction package," Pingree said. "It's outrageous that Congress has resorted to these arbitrary, extreme budget cuts."

She added, "The public workers at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and around the country deserve our thanks -- not a 20 percent pay cut."

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